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Wednesday, March 28, 2012

How to get a man to clean without asking/nagging (includes giveaway)

As previously mentioned, I have created a #1Hubby-proof plan for getting said #1Hubby to carry out his fair share of the household cleaning. And then some.

It is genius. I am a genius.

And no, it does not involve offering up explicit favours.

Or promising not to speak during the cricket.

In my wifely experience, all 12.5 years of it (because when you've done that much time, even the 0.5 matters), I've found that the best form of persuasion is passive coercion.

Where did I learn this? Not from my mother as you may expect. She left me hanging high and dry on the husband wrangling tips. Perhaps because she's still trying to conquer #1 Pop.

It was actually #1Hubby himself who taught me how to convince him to do stuff he'd otherwise hate, without a single suggestive hint, whine, loaded comment, or withdrawal of any services on my part.

You see, we'd been together for around 6 years when I found out, via overhearing him offering marital advice to a couple of newlywed friends, that way back in ye olde worlde times when we first shacked up together, he deliberately mixed colours and whites in the wash to create a couples uniform of pink and/or grey clothing. He also deliberately - to this freaking day - hangs the clothes as if they've been spat out by a tornado and tossed on the line.

This makes me stabby

The result of his supposedly innocent actions is that I now insist on doing all the washing and hanging all the clothes on the line myself. It has nothing to do with my extreme need for symmetry, even on the clothes line.

He is an evil genius, and while I was the one on the receiving end, I don't think I've ever loved him more than when I found out about this scheme.

It was a pure coincidence that I singed water stains into his work shirt while ironing it the very next day.

I have not been allowed to touch the iron ever since, 10 years later.

And so, I give you my #1 tip on how to get the menfolk to do their share of the cleaning and other household chores : passive coercion via human error..

Floor needs vacuuming

Only do it while sport is on TV. Make sure you have valid excuses not to do it any other time. If possible, let the vacuum butt up against the TV cabinet a little and jiggles it, so he panics that it will all come toppling over and break his beloved TV.

Kids have lessons to be ferried to and from

Take them the first time, let him stay home. Go shopping after the lessons, and buy something for yourself that you don't need. Shoes, clothes, make up. Anything he can't use and will see as a luxury item. If he isn't scared into action the following week, repeat. Trust me, after a few weeks he'll insist on you staying home while he takes the kids to their lessons.

Windows need to be cleaned

Use his best Tshirt, claiming it leaves the windows streak-free. And if that isn't enough, bust out his jocks too. After cleaning them, lightly spray with window cleaner so that the next time he pulls them out to wear, he can smell the cleaning product on them.

Sick of ironing his uniform / work clothes / business attire?

A few singe marks and water stains will see him insisting on doing it himself.

Sick of ironing your own stuff?

A few singe marks and water stains requiring you to go out and purchase new clothes will see him offering to iron your clothes too, rather than fork out for a new wardrobe.

You're welcome...and on to the point of this post, besides sharing my domestic wisdom:

It's no secret that Chux are a Sponsor of Awesome and, coincidentally, creator of awesome products. Just ask #1Hubby who does the bulk of the cleaning me.

#1Hubby and I have put together a list of our top 5 Chux cleaning products, the must have items:

Chux Kitchen Wonder Cloth
For those who have a severely unco-ordinated wife, prone to spilling stuff. This will soak it up before the wine coffee reaches your mobile phone, laptop, or other vital equipment that she insists on drinking/spilling near.

It's true. It really is the every-man cloth of the cleaning market.

Chux Non-Scratch Scourer Sponges
Removing baked on food, the result of hours of blogger neglect. I know I've mentioned this one before, but it's still happening, it's still an issue in our household.

It's true. I can't seem to commit to cooking without a sneaky Tweet or 20 in the middle and suddenly I'm totally lost amongst Ebay auctions ending soon, blog posts and Facebook (oh my).

Chux Magic Eraser Hard Surface CleanerThe kids like to go all Pro Hart on the walls and tiles. You wouldn't know it, thanks to this. Now if only they'd make one that filled the cracks and holes and reapplied the paint. That would be impressive.

Ladies, he likes to flex his biceps while scrubbing the walls. It's a mix of alluring, fetching, hilarious and desperate. Mostly alluring and fetching, on account of the fact that he's cleaning and I'm not.

Chux Magic Eraser BathroomBrace yourselves peeps - this one is my recommendation, not his. I do the bathroom cleaning, for the most part. This thing is awesome. Considering I hate cleaning, this thing manages to cut through the months weeks of soap scum and crap built up around my shower recess with ease.

He has no Peanut Gallery style remark. He was too busy laughing at me claiming to clean the bathrooms every few weeks.

Chux Kitchen Super ScrubAgain...this is my recommendation, not his. Occasionally, I get a bit over hearing #1Hubby whine about my burning the bottoms of pots. While he swears by the Non-Scratch Scourer Sponge, I swear by this little baby. And despite what he says, I do my share of dishes.

He made some totally false and derogatory comments pertaining to my claims of regular dish cleaning. Comments I simply could not publish *ahem*.

But don't just take #1Hubby's my word for it. For your chance at winning this plentiful Chux bounty:

Excuse me while I hold #1Hubby up as he goes weak at the knees over the sight of all this cleaning awesomeness

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119 comments:

My mum! :) ha ha!She is a domestic marvel! She eliminates dirt from places I don't even think about. In all seriousness, she's taught me alot about cleaning "properly" and I'd be lost without her visits to help me get things neat and tidy (if only for a short while!)

Mine is the chux magic eraser,and I promise I'm not making it up!,having a child who tends to create his masterpieces on the walls I was elated when i discoved these!making the huge task much,much simpler and I've also found it's great for getting mark of the bath tub left by colored bath toys!

Definitely Chux Cleaning wipes! We go through so many of them that I'm too embarrassed to admit even an approximate number. Pine O Clean also make some awesome antibacterial wipes that have a scourer side - great for getting dried chocolate & sauce off benchtops & floors, then flip over & use the smooth side to scoop it up. They come in tubs of 80 which suits my needs much better than the 35pks by Chux (there's a hint in there for Chux's marketing department).

Chux Magic Erasers are essentialfor a toddler with a texta or pencil.When there are stickers plastered on whatevermy little Magic Eraser does something rather cleverand for all those random marks whatever they beChux Erasers work their magic for one very happy me.

I can't for the life of me think of my single most must-have for cleaning unless it's 'someone else'! I like the sound of Chux Magic Erasers though. I have a lovely little wall drawing that my 17yo daughter drew for me when she was an infant. It is probably about time I tackled removing it. Sigh.

Water! - With a toddler and newborn water does everything. Just use it with a cloth and your desired cleaner. Bathes their stinky bodies, cleans their grubby clothes, Helps clean toilet training accidents.. arghh! Forever cleaning up after my bloody kids Haha

But in all seriousness my must have cleaning item would have to be dishwashing liquid- I use it for so many things- mopping, strip washing my mcns, wiping down surfaces, cleaning windows...oh and of course washing up!

I'm following via GFC as Jasmine1485, I'm a fan on Facebook as Kate Ryan and I'm following on Twitter as NTFancy. I'm also a fan of Chux on Facebook.

Bicarb soda for me, if I have no idea how to clean something I just try that, it mostly works! I've used it on tiles, glass, my oven and plenty of other things with varying success, it's best on floors and tough stains on pots and pans. :)

Do I have to have one favorite cleaning item...or can i say that I have four? Four boys that is - in training to be good husbands! Actually my number one cleaning item is anything that will clean our shower in our motorhome. Its the only place that I must have cleaned every day otherwise it gets too moldy. Follow your blog and chux fanpage!

CHUX rubber gloves with a long cuff - whilst wearing these I can tackle any cleaning job whilst keeping my hands protected. We all know what cleaning products can do to bare hands, I just have to look at Grans hands to be reminded.